A Lag in the System
by fetusinformaldehyde
Summary: Historia finds that there is no log out button in the Sword Art Online game. There will be Yumikuri, Mikaani, and maybe a few others along the way. M for later violence.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first time writing any Fanfic, please feel free to review my work. Enjoy:).**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY CHARACTERS, SETTINGS, ETC. MENTIONED WITHIN THIS WORK.**

* * *

The NerveGear sat unused on her bed. Historia had been waiting months for this. She finally got her own Sword Art Online game. She was lucky enough to get one of ten thousand. Now all she had to do now was turn it on.

She placed the helmet on her head. She took a sharp intake of air.

"Link start." A flash of colors came to her vision, waltzing all around her until a log in screen came up. She excitedly entered her information.

The whole world appeared before her eyes. She moved around a little to get the hang of it; to make herself believe that this was actually reality.

She looked around at all the players, laughing making friends, all right here in the town of beginning.

She only then realized, she didn't know anyone. She didn't have a party or friends.

_'Well there's an easy way to fix that' _she thought. She looked at all the different faces, unsure of who to try to befriend.

She approached a girl player, frantically eating the virtual food.

"Hello" Historia said in a friendly manner.

"Hiya" the girl said back. It was almost indecipherable because of the food that filled the girl's mouth.

The girl swallowed hard. "Sorry about that, I got hungry. My name's Sasha" Sasha said and beamed at her.

"My name's Historia" she said with a smile.

"Did ya get any supplies yet? I haven't yet. I got busy talking and eating." Sasha said grinning.

"No, not yet. Maybe we could go together?" Sasha nodded frantically.

Sasha smiled and pulled her by the wrist, running frantically through crowds of people.

"Here we are!" Sasha stopped and released Historia's wrist in front of a supply shop.

The shop had a large selection of weapons, really only swords and knives.

Sasha already was talking to the shopkeeper about various weapons.

Historia looked around at the options. Swords and knives of different sizes and colors covered the store's walls.

Historia eventually decided she'd go with a sword that caught her eye. She waited for Sasha to finish her conversation and buy her weapon.

"Ready?" Sasha said excitedly. She couldn't even answer Sasha pulled her away so fast.

She released her in front of another booth.

"We'll need potion!"

"Yeah" Historia agreed. Sasha was sure an eager person.

She picked out a few potions for various purposes.

Sasha picked out her potions more quickly than her weapon.

"Let's go!" Sasha said happily. "What do you want to do now?"

"Well, I don't really know how to use my sword yet so do you think you could tea-"

"I know a great place to train with swords!" Sasha said excitedly. She lead them to a landscape filled with boars and several other low level monsters.

"Just use your sword like you think you would in real life. Except, when you feel an effect starting up, just hold it still for a minute. It's called a sword skill when the effect happens. It makes your attack really strong." Sasha instructed.

"Okay got it." Historia tried it in the air the first few times.

"Okay great! Now try it on a monster." Sasha instructed.

Historia was determined to be able to do this. She targeted a boar and held her sword in a mid-strike position to do a sword skill like Sasha mentioned. She charged at the boar and successfully wiped it out, giving her Exp.

It felt great to be able to do this. The things she never dreamed she could do. She was finally having fun, real fun for the first time in her life.

Hisoria smiled as she got the hang of it. "Thank you, Sasha!"

"Don't mention it! So, you wanna spar?" Sasha said as a joke.

"Yeah actually, I do."

Taken back a bit by accepting her empty offer, Sasha shrugged and took a stance. "Whenever you're ready."

Historia took a stance. '_You can do this, Historia._' she thought.

Historia ran powerfully making a strong headstrike.

Sasha made a great block. Before Historia could think, Sasha countered. Historia could barely block it.

They smiled at each other, slightly maliciously.

They continued to spar in a friendly matter until it seemed the sun was setting.

They ceased, huffing with each breath.

"Heh heh, you learn fast don't ya?!" Sasha said grinning.

"Guess so." Historia smiled at the girl.

They only stopped when they heard the ringing. It was ringing, it was silent, ominous. It felt like something was looming over them, something was going to happen.

They were taken by surprise as they were suddenly moved to the town of beginnings.

Confusion filled each face that was appearing and those who had already appeared. People were confused and unhappy. It only fell silent when it started.

The blinking. A red blinking light appeared in the sky. Everyone's eyes meet the light, unknowing of what's to happen; clueless of the terror that was awaiting them. The entirety of the sky grew red flashing the word 'warning'. The red loomed over all of the gamers, who were startled at the current event.

The giant hooded figure appeared in the sky and began speaking immediately. The situation was being explained: no one could log out until the game was won; the NerveGear cannot be removed or the result is death; if you die in the game it will result in your actual death.

The nightmare has started. Only this time, it was in her supposed-to-be escape from the stress of the real world. Her paradise is caving in around her.


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone stood, stunned, horrified, at the messages just passed. Everyone has now been told to look for their new 'present' from the creator. Historia removed the mirror, surprised when a flash of light cleared that she could her original look had returned to her. She momentarily glanced over to Sasha, seeing her brown pony tail and eyes for the first time. Sasha did the same to her.

Kayaba continued to state his selfish reason for trapping everyone.

"Good luck, players." Kayaba had said as he started to dissapear.

The red in the sky broke, leaving empty questions and fear.

After a long, stunned silence, Historia glanced at Sasha in horror, which Sasha reciprocated.

As soon as the silence and horrified glances broke, curses and screams were blaring around Historia. She understood too; she felt like screaming. She had the horror and anger inside of her too. She just couldn't bring herself to do it. She couldn't make a sound.

The silence returned all too soon. Everyone was horified.

_What have any of us done to deserve this hell?_

"Let's make a party." Sasha offered.

Historia knew there was no way she could reject her. She still couldn't say anything. She didn't want to do this alone.

"We should gather some supplies before they all go. Then let's head to the next town." Sasha suggested.

Historia nodded.

They couldn't get their hands on many good supplies. All the players were like hungry wolves. It was understandable; everyone planned on making it out alive and they needed what they could get.

While Sasha was gathering what she could, Historia got them a place to stay for the night. They would leave in the morning.

Historia went to find Sasha after a while.

She found Sasha at a near-empty potions shop.

"Sasha? What did you get?"

"Oh, uh , three potions. I'm trying to get one more though."

"We don't need it even. You can have the extra."

"What? You think I'll get hurt that fast?" Sasha said jokingly.

Historia forced a smile. She couldn't smile for real yet. She was terrfied, probably a bit too much.

"Let's go. We can get food." Historia said.

Sasha smiled. Even though the food was fake, she still wanted it.

After they ate, Historia showed Sasha where they were staying.

It was a small room; it was only for one night so they shouldn't need much space.

They didn't say much for the rest of the day. They had a long and very eventful only really said their goodnights.

Historia didn't sleep well. There was too much stress. Too much fear to deal with for her to sleep.

"G'morning."

"Morning."

Sasha got up and immediately started getting ready. They departed today.

Historia got up and got ready. She put two potions on her belt. Her sword went on her back. Sasha put three potions on her belt and her sword at her hip. All they had to do was get food.

They went together to a close place to get food. Historia ate desite the sick feeling in her gut. It wasn't filling anyway. She was tired of feeling this way. She just wanted to get over it and get out.

Sasha ate vigorously as usual. She ate more the Historia did, so she waited for Sasha to finish her meal.

Sasha stood up. "Ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go." she said with a forced smile.

Sasha smiled and they started to leave. It was evident that they were not the only ones leaving.

They went through the landscapes at a faster pace. Sasha was eager to kill small monsters as they went and wanted to have fun. Historia decided she would to. It was great that Sasha was such an eager person. It was contagious.

They stopped for periods of times that were probably too long for just killing boars for EXP. It would be dark before they got to the next town at this rate. They left somewhat early so it would be idiotic for them to get in past dark.

"C'mon Sasha. It'll be dark when we get there if we keep doing this."

"Eh, you're right." Sasha aid, sheathing her sword.

They continued to the next town at a faster rate.

They occasionally passed some other players. Almost none of the players went alone.

Most groups seemed friendly and would exchange hellos with them.

But there was one shady group in plain sight.

There was a group that was just sitting in the landscape. None of them looked happy or were talking just sitting there, angrily. They ignored everyone passing by.

"They sure had a lot of supplies for people just sitting around." Historia said after a good distance away from them.

"Huh? Who?"

"Oh. Nevermind."

Sasha looked just a little grumpy after that.

They walked at a faster pace, with small conversations along the way so they would get to know each other better.

The sun was setting when the next town came in sight. They had dawdled too long.

Sasha noticed Historia's discomfort.

"Hey, it'll be okay. It's just a sunset. A sunset never hurt anyone."

Historia looked up at her. Sasha grinned at her. Historia reciprocated the gesture.

"Hey midget. Your parents ever tell you not to stay out late?" they heard from behind.

Historia turned to see where the voice had come from.

A hooded figure stood several yards away. They could only see the person's expressionless mouth.

Fear spiked though Historia's body. She could feel could feel the malice radiating off the figure.

A smirk spread across the figure's face. Then Historia saw it.

The eyes of the person who held the malicious smirk. The amber eyes were glaring into her, seeing through her. They were destroying her; she couldn't even bring herself to move.

"There are bad people in the dark" the figure said again.

"You all should have known better."


	3. Chapter 3

Historia couldn't take her eyes off of the figure. She couldn't make herself move. She could hardly breathe.

The figure moved closer, Historia could hear the person softly giggling. Sasha drew her sword, immediately prepared to fight.

The figure continued to move forward, despite Sasha's threats. Amber eyes were hovering on to Historia she could feel it. She noticed the orange crystal shape floating above the figure.

_'Great. We're already being mugged on our first day trapped in here.' _

The figure turned their attention to Sasha, who was ready to fight. Immediately, the figure knocked Sasha over and forced something down her throat. _A paralysis effect_. Their attention returned to the short blonde.

The figure slowly approached Historia. The eyes were on her again. The figure was too close.

Historia felt a hand on her hip. The figure wasn't touching her, they were stealing her supplies.

Before Historia knew what she was doing, she hit the figure on the shoulder with her blade, making them fall with a thud.

The arm shattered into pieces. A screen came up, removing their some HP, which they seemed to have been lacking anyway. The hood fell off their head, revealing dark hair, tanned skin, and freckles. She recognized her from the shady group from earlier.

"Bitch! What the hell'd you do that for!?"

"That's a stupid question. You attacked my friend and you were trying to steal from us."

"So you fucking cut off my fucking arm?!"

"It'll come back in the safe zone."

The girl was silent and just sat there in disgust. She was pissed because of her own doing; her own stupidity.

She started to get up and fell over. "Dammit."

"Ymir, what'd you do this time, dumbass?"

Historia saw the two others from the shady group appear. One was a short blonde with no emotion in her icy blue eyes. The other girl was an asian with dark black hair and cold gray eyes.

"What does it look like?" Ymir retorted.

The blonde sneered at her and picked her up off the ground. "Dumbass."

They left without a word. After all of that, they said nothing. Sasha was starting to regain her movement.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you" Sasha said.

"No I should apologize. I didn't help you. I was useless."

"You can't say that. I was the one who managed to get paralyzed."

Historia pick Sasha up and continued to the next town.

Historia managed to get them a place to stay overnight. Sasha was able to completely move again in the morning. The first thing she spent her movement on was getting food.

Historia woke up to Sasha already being awake. "Sorry, I already got food."

"That's okay." Historia wasn't scared anymore. She was pissed. She was pissed because she wasn't strong enough last night. She was pissed because that Ymir person tried to mug them.

"Sasha."

"Hmm?"

"We need a bigger party."

Sasha looked at her with her eyebrows raised. She could see the serious, angry look in Historia's eyes.

"Well we should probably befriend more people then."

"Do you know anyone in this game? You sure seemed to know what you were doing when you taught me how to use my sword."

Sasha was quiet for a minute. "Well, I know a few people. I have no idea where they are though."

"Do you think we could?" Historia maintained her serious look, but there was a look of hope in her eye.

Sasha smiled "Yeah, I guess we could try."

Historia smiled. Maybe then they would have a chance to survive this hell.

Historia woke up and looked at Sasha, who was still sleeping. She sat and waited for her to get up.

Sasha eventually woke up slowly.

"Sasha."

"Eh?"

"Let's go get some EXP."

"Ehhh fine. We can get food first, right?"

"Yeah." Historia said with a slight smile.

They ate and Historia dragged Sasha to go kill low-level monsters.

"Are we done yet?" Sasha said.

"Okay, I guess so." Sasha hasn't really been up for playing the game lately.

"Sasha, is something wrong?"

"Nah. I just didn't really want to do much today."

"Oh. " This wasn't like Sasha at all.

"We should probably head to the next town soon." Historia added

"Yeah, okay."

Historia looked at Sasha. She looked bored and uncaring. It was unusual for her; her usual eagerness just disappeared. Something was up. Maybe it had to do with the other night. Historia decided that if Sasha wanted to share her feelings with her she'd listen and she wouldn't force her to tell her.

She left Sasha alone for most of the day. Conversation was low.

"When do you want to go to the next town?" Sasha finally said.

"How about two days?"

"Sounds good."

Sasha and Historia didn't talk for the rest of the day.


	4. Chapter 4

Two days had passed. Sasha was starting to get her enthusiasm back.

Today was the day they'd start heading to new towns. They wanted to find Sasha's friends as soon as possible.

Historia woke to Sasha eating in her own bed. Sasha ceased eating and stared into Historia's eyes. Sasha slowly and awkwardly began eating again.

This was the fifth time Historia has awakened to that same thing.

Sasha finished her food and began to gather her belongings. Historia did the same. Historia went without food for now, which Sasha couldn't understand.

They started out and headed into the landscape.

Historia started out a conversation. "So who're your friends we're going to be meeting?"

"Uhh...their names are Connie, Bertholdt, Reiner, Jean, and Marco."

"What're they like?"

"Where do I begin?" Sasha joked. "Connie's a bald midget, Bert's really tall and quiet, Reiner's a hardass and so is Jean, and Marco is really nice and has lots of freckles."

"Well they sound like real characters."

"Pffft. Definately."

* * *

Historia wasn't in the mood to fight any low-level bosses. Neither was Sasha. They just wanted to get there as soon as possible.

They arrived in the town very quickly. They planned to go to multiple towns that day.

"No one has beaten the first floor yet, so they've gotta be in one of the next few towns."

"Yeah. When I last saw them, they were all together."

"Why'd you leave them in the first place anyway?"

Sasha gave her a funny, sheepish look. Historia already knew that she left to find weapons and walked through the town briefly. Historia knew that Sasha wanted to find her friends more than she thought. She thought she must be tired of being around such an uninteresting person like herself.

They quickly looked through shops. Historia watched Sasha's eyes as they searched for a glimpse of a familiar face.

They spent all day searching through various shops, just looking for a single sign of someone Sasha knew.

Within a few hours, they went through all of the town already and they hadn't found anyone.

They started to move on to the next town.

They had just left the town and Sasha had stopped in her tracks. She had a look of shock on her face.

Historia quickly followed her line of vision.

_Shit._

* * *

It was her. The mugger. Ymir. She had her arm back and was sitting alone. She wasn't bothering anyone this time. She didn't seem to have any supplies.

Sasha immediately had a spiteful glare on her face and started angrily marching over to her.

"Sasha, no!"

She spun around and looked at Historia. Sasha had a look of commitment in her eyes. Historia knew she couldn't stop her.

Sasha was being fueled by rage. She wasn't herself right now. She'll regret this later. She'll feel guilty later.

Sasha turned her attention back to the unexpecting Ymir. She charged at her and punched her right in the face.

"What the he-" She was cut off by getting hit in the mouth with the hilt of Sasha's sword.

Sasha took out her sword completely and swung at Ymir's head, which she barely managed to dodge.

"Fuck, man!" Sasha didn't stop and Ymir stopped trying to defend herself.

Sasha hit her in the chest with the blade. She didn't stop attacking until Ymir's HP was critically low. Sasha glared at her and left angrily, not even remembering Historia was with her.

Historia didn't like her, but she couldn't just let Ymir die.

"Here." Historia said, forcing a potion down her throat.

"I don't need your help." This was an obvious lie.

"Why didn't you try to defend yourself?"

"I don't have a sword."

Historia realized she never did see a sword with her when she tried to mug them.

"Why are you starting fights then?"

"I want their shit. I want to live."

"Well that's a terrible way of trying. You're getting yourself killed this way too."

Ymir sneered at the ground and grunted. "What are you, my mom?"

Historia just shook her head slightly at her immature response.

Ymir's HP was gradually restoring. It'll take about five minutes to get her HP back up completely.

"Where did your friends go?" Historia asked.

"Like _they're_ my friends. I don't know where the went. They said they'd be back though. Then your bitch friend attacked me."

"Hey she's not a bitch!" Historia automatically defended her friend.

"Okay okay geez. Now go away. I'll be fine."

"Why do you even care, shorty?"

Historia thought about that. She already gave her what she needed not to die. Why was she staying?

"I just don't want to see people die is all."

"Oh _how sweet_." Ymir said sarcastically with a smirk. Historia just glared at her.

Ymir's HP restored fully after a few more minutes. Historia started to go. Ymir didn't stop her.

'_You're welcome_.' She wasn't planning on ever helping her again.

She immediately went to find Sasha. She looked around the town for the rown haired girl. She wasn't as easy to find as she thought.

It took her about an hour to find Sasha. She was sitting by a tree grumpily. She had a very slight look of remorse in her eyes. It was almost non-existent though.

She sat down by the angry girl and leaned her head on her shoulder, looking up at her.

"Are you okay?"

Sasha sighed heavily. "l guess so." she said slightly smiling at her.

"If you've cooled down enough, there's still time to make it to the next town."

Sasha stood up and held out a hand to help Hisoria up.

"Let's go."


	5. Chapter 5

The two headed off for the next town immediately. It wasn't as far as the others, so they got there rather quickly.

This town was quiet. Not many people were residing there at the moment.

Historia followed Sasha as she looked from place to place for her friends. Sasha had quick, eager eyes today. She seemed happy again. She probably just had to take her anger out on the person who caused it. She obviously felt very little guilt about what she had done.

"Hey!" The outburst made Historia jump slightly. Sasha grabbed Historia by the wrist and dragged her to an unfamiliar person. Sasha slapped the short bald boy on the back of the head.

"What the- oh hey Sasha."

"You all left without me!"

"Hey no you left without us!" Sasha just smiled because she knew it was true.

"Historia, this is Connie. Connie, Historia."

They exchanged greetings and Sasha continued to talk to Connie.

"So where are the others?"

"Eh they're in one of the shops. C'mon."

Connie lead them to a small store where five others were browsing.

"Hey guys! Look who I found!" Sasha looked at him funny. _She_ found _him_.

They turned their attention to Sasha and greeted her.

A somewhat tall boy with blond-ish hair said to Sasha "Who's your friend?"

Sasha introduced Historia to everyone else and vice versa.

The man who ran the store didn't seem to enjoy them loitering in his shop and not buying anything. "Buy something or get out."

The man looked at them expectantly. "Well maybe we would buy something if you sold more than shit". Historia didn't catch who said that.

"OUT." They left quickly.

* * *

Nightfall came fairly quickly. They spent most of the day catching up with each other. Sasha looked at them before they were going to start to leave. "Hey, don't you all think we should make a party?" They were quick to accept. They were all friends, so why wouldn't they want to? Historia was the only one who wasn't acquainted with everyone else. Hopefully, that would change soon.

It was late, so they decided they would go get a place to stay.

"So have you heard the rumors that they found out where the boss is?" Marco started the conversation.

Everyone took shock. It's been weeks. Someone has finally given them the first step to their escape.

"Yeah. I heard everyone who's been in has died." Connie brought up.

"Someone will have to win eventually. It's only the first floor!" Jean said.

"Well, do we know where it is?" Reiner questioned.

"No, but I'm sure we could find out from someone else nosy enough to find out and do nothing." Connie said.

Historia stopped listening. All of this came suddenly. '_Are they planning on going after the boss_?'

She couldn't focus on the rest of the conversation. All of this was so sudden.

Eventually, everyone said their goodnights and went to bed.

Historia was terrified yet relieved. She was terrified that if they did go after the boss, they might die. She was relieved because it was the beginning of their escape of this hell.

* * *

The next day, there was a meeting within the town about the boss. Historia's worry was correct; they did plan on going after the boss. She found out when they were getting food that they were going to fight the boss once they were sure of it's location. They decided to attend the meeting as soon as they found out about it.

A man started to speak. He greeted everyone, introduced himself with a made-up title, and got to the point. "Our party has located the boss room at the top of the tower. If you want to fight the boss too, form small parties."

They were good on that part.

The man described the boss and how it attacked and went into further detail about their planned raid. "Any questions?"

Connie blurted out "Has anyone tried to fight it yet?"

"No. Any further questions.

It was silent. Connie was unhappy with his vague answer.

"Good. We meet at ten AM tomorrow. Anyone who's late won't be included. See you there!"

"Why couldn't he give me a better answer?!" Connie said.

"Ah, get over it baldy." Sasha said jokingly.

Connie continued to rant about his displeasure with his answer and Sasha taunted him jokingly about his lack of hair.

Historia just smiled at their friendly bickering. She really wanted them all to survive the next morning. She wanted them all to live. She wanted to hear their bickering again. She wanted to leave this game alive too.


	6. Chapter 6

The morning arrived. They got ready hastily, with almost no conversation in between. They had started out very quickly and made it in time to go with the other parties.

The walk to the tower was almost completely silent throughout all of the participating parties.

It took them a while to walk up to the top of the tower. The huge doors stood in front of them. Historia looked at all of the other parties. The man who owned the store was there with a short, light haired woman, a taller light haired man who looked like an older, curly haired Jean, a taller blond man with some facial hair, a tall man with short dark hair, a man with prominent eyebrows and blond hair, and a dark haired woman with also saw the Asian with the scarf and the short blonde girl she didn't know the names of with Ymir. Ymir paid Historia and the others no attention.

Before she could finish looking at all the faces, the doors in front of her opened. They proceeded inside. The huge red figure sat on a chair in front of them. It's eyes were glowing red. It stood up, bearing it's ax and shield. Three smaller figures appeared in front of the monster, wearing a version of a knight's armor.

The red crystals and names appeared over the figures's head.

"Commence attack!"

The groups charged at the figure in front of them. Historia's ran at the larger figure, and went for its back. Her blade met the shield and she could barely avoid the ax lunging at her. She figured that it wasn't a good idea to try to distract it outside the group.

She went for one of the smaller creatures. Her blade met it's back because it was distracted by it's attacker from the front. She and the other attacker managed to lower it's HP drastically.

Historia met up with her party once again. They had been instructed by the man who ran the meeting to switch and attack the boss. They made a unanimous strike and met it's red flesh. As soon as they had struck it, it was another party's turn to switch. They had to resume fighting the smaller monsters until it was their turn once again.

Historia fought one by herself this time. She fought it for only a few minutes until it fell back and exploded. She looked around to see none of the smaller monsters remaining. She went to meet with her party again. Their turn should be soon.

"Wait!"

The red beast had suddenly stopped and threw it's ax and shield aside. It reached to its back and pulled out a no-dachi.

'_Shit!'_

The information said the weapon was to be a talwar. This could change the game completely.

The man who ran the meeting was the first to try to attack. He tried alone. He was the first to realize that the tables had turned.

The blade slashed his armor twice, penetrating it in the first blow. A gaping slash was ripped in his skin. He fell back with a thud and he soon after shattered into hundreds of pieces.

We had no clue what to do. The tables have turned and the only one who was a true leader shattered before us.

The monster roared at the silent crowd. One person broke the silence.

"Charge!"

The crowd did as the person said. Everyone tried to attack it, which is the worst method to try. But it was the only one they knew and they were all desperate.

The monster moved quickly and within five minutes, several more people had died because of it.

Historia went for its upper back near the neck, which proved to be a mistake. She had been the only one striking at the time, and she was striking near a vital place. As she made it to the ground, it quickly snapped around and moved quickly in several directions. She knew she couldn't keep up. She began to doubt herself in the few moments it was moving. Fear ran through her. She couldn't move. She was done.

She saw it come at her, eyes glowing red ominously and roaring. She raised her sword in a weak attempt at a block and closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to witness her own downfall. She was surprised to hear a clash of metal. She blow didn't reach her.

"You gotta be more careful, shorty." a familiar voice said sarcastically.

"Ymir?"

As soon as she had come she left. Historia met up with the rest of her party soon after that. She struck minor parts with them like the foot or the knee. The parties managed to finally get it into its last life bar.

The man who ran the store and the blond eyebrow man seemed to be taking charge of the attacks. The man with serious eyebrow game regained control and instructed half of the parties to take offense and half on defense. He instructed the offense group to attack. The boss started up it's rapid movements for it's counter, which the offensive parties switched to take the blow. As soon as the attack hit the parties, the man who ran the shop came from above and sliced it's head almost completely off. The final roar of the beast still rang through the hall. The man came down triumphantly, but emotionless. The massive corpse lit up and exploded into millions of pieces. The people cheered.

His screen appeared, awarding him an item called the coat of midnight. He put it on and said nothing. He proceeded up the stairs. "Levi..." the eybrow man called after him. He turned around. "What do you want?"

"Petra...the others...I'm really sorry." said the lady with glasses near eyebrow man.

All they got in response was a grunt and he proceeded to leave. Everyone was listening to that; they wanted to know what the man who won the first floor had to say. It left us all wondering what's going through his mind. The silence stayed for quite a while.

The others started to leave too. Historia decided to catch up with Ymir.

Ymir was with the Asian girl with the scarf and the short blonde.

"Ymir?"

"What is it, shorty?"

"Why did you save me back there? You didn't have to."

"The same reason you saved me after I let your friend pummel me. Also I felt like I owed you."

"When did you get a sword?"

"When I stole it." Historia looked at the ever-present orange crystal figure above Ymir's head.

She started to walk away.

"Wait Ymir!"

She got her attention.

"Uhh...why don't you and your friends join my party?"

Ymir raised her eyebrow and looked at her comrades. They shrugged.

"Eh, why not. We're in, shorty."

Historia smiled. She also chose not to think about how Sasha or the others would react. It was a thought for later.

Inside, she was actually really glad Ymir joined her party. She wanted to be her friend. Ymir didn't seem like the type to make friends easily. But Historia knew that she wanted to try.


	7. Chapter 7- Part two begins

It's been several months since the boss battle. About thirty more floors have been beaten. They have recently decided to turn their no-longer little party into a guild.

Historia sat next to Sasha. Sasha had been upset with her for letting Ymir join. She denied it and tried not to show it, but it was pretty obvious.

Sasha was quiet, evidently bored. Historia tried thinking of something to say to her.

"So how di-"

"Hey shorty!"

Ymir sat right in between them in the most obnoxious way possible. "Sasha."

"Mhm."

They were _not _fond of each other. They had several fist fights in the past few months. Ymir wouldn't let Sasha win those times. She showed to be a much stronger fighter than she would seem to a stranger.

Sasha scooted away from Ymir. '_Dammit, Ymir_.'

She sat with her arms along the back of the couch, putting one arm around Historia.

Historia glared at her slightly.

"What?" Ymir noticed.

"Nothing."

Historia hadn't been able to have a real conversation with Sasha in days. It makes Historia sad. She was her first friend in this world.

Before too long Sasha had already left. She knew it was because Ymir was there.

"God, why do you like hanging around her? Sheesh."

"Ymir, for god's sake do you have to insult her? She's my friend!"

"Whatever, princess." Ymir smirked.

Historia rolled her eyes. She isn't normally this cold to Ymir, but she hates it when she insults Sasha. Ymir is normally the one who starts the fights between the two.

Historia didn't understand Ymir. One moment she's a criminal and the next she's acting like a warrior. One moment she pretty much tells Historia to fuck off and the next she's joining her party. She looked into Ymir's amber eyes that were gazing off into the distance at something else. She looked away from her. She liked Ymir, but she didn't trust her.

"Historia."

"Hmm?"

"Why did you come here?"

"Well they're my friends and I wanted to be with them so..."

"No. I mean why did you come here?" She gestured around the room. "To Aincrad. Why did you buy Sword Art Online?"

Historia was surprised. She didn't expect Ymir to ask that. No, she didn't expect _anyone_ to ask that.

"Uhh...well..I-I" she stuttered. Ymir raised her eyebrows.

"It's a yes or no question."

Historia looked confused. "No. No, it really isn't." Ymir chuckled at her confusion. "Just tell me."

"Well, uh, my parents have never really liked me. At all. They told me things like I should have never been born and that I was a mistake. I believed it honestly. They convinced me. If I ever messed up, they remind me of my uselessness and would normally leave a mark to remind me. It wasn't where anyone could see though. I was tired of living there, in that hell. I bought Sword Art Online because I thought a virtual reality could be my escape from that life, like a new start. As you can tell_, this _is no better than that. We're all probably in critical condition in the real world and in hospitals. But anyways, I'm sure I've more than answered your 'yes or no' question."

Ymir grunted in acknowledgement. She didn't expect a life story. She didn't mind the length, she just didn't expect her to tell her that much.

"So why'd you get it?"

"Bored."

Mikasa and Annie came in together and sat by Ymir. Historia learned their names pretty quickly.

Ymir looked at them and then at Historia. "Hey, is it just me or can you literally smell the homo on them?"

That got her punched in the lip by Annie.

"Eh, you all can't take jokes."

Historia decided to go find Sasha while Ymir was probably going to annoy Annie more.

She found Sasha talking with Connie about their plans of making a guild.

"Hi."

"Hey Historia. Come sit."

She took a seat next to Sasha. The resumed their conversation about their guild plans.

"So what'll the uniforms look like? Or what will our guild be called?" Sasha asked with an excited look in her eye.

"It's gotta be something cool. How about something like Black Dragon?"

"I prefer Bald Midget." Sasha giggled slightly at her own joke. They started to banter at each other.

She decided to leave them to that and went over to Jean, Reiner, and Bert.

They were having small talk with each other. Historia still wasn't very acquainted with them. She just sat and listened to their conversation, not finding any part where she could join in.

Ymir, Mikasa, and Annie entered soon. Annie and Mikasa only talked to each other and to Ymir. Ymir sat next to Historia without saying anything. It was evident that Ymir did manage to offend Annie more by the marks n her face that were rapidly fading.

Not too long after, Sasha and Connie entered the room. Everyone who was in the original small party was there. There are many other members who were recruited or even some who asked to join. They were the ones who were going to be in charge of the guild, so they were going to be the ones who discuss the specifics.

"So what're we going to do?" Sasha started.

"Well, we should probably find out our guild's name and our uniforms."

"Uniforms will be less debatable, so why don't we start with that?"

They discussed various ways the uniform could look and they got Jean to draw some designs. Ymir taunted his art style, which obviously pissed him off. Marco would normally be there to soothe his anger, but he never returned from the boss room.

They voted on one of the designs; it was black pants and boots with a white shirt and a black cloak with a red interior and it had gold patterns on the back, along the arms, and on the hood. The back will also have the guild's insignia once they design that based on the name.

It was nightfall by the time they had finished designing the uniform. The small meeting disbanded.

Jean left still upset with Ymir's insults.

"Seriously! Why did we even let them in our party?!" He said to Reiner and Bert.

Historia ignored his comments. She was actually quite surprised that they let Ymir join. She was just happy to have another friend.

Mikasa and Annie left together. Ymir stayed in the room. Historia looked at her.

"Hey, don't you want to go to bed?"

"Yeah. Just go."

Historia looked at her.

"Historia."

"Yeah?"

"...I'm sorry about what your parents did to you..."

Historia wasn't expecting her to say something like that. Let alone apologize. "Thanks Ymir."

"Sure."

Historia went to bed without another word.


	8. Chapter 8

"Historia."

'_Huh_?'

"Historia get up."

Historia was awakened with a shake to see Sasha's face.

"Hey Sasha."

"You missed breakfast. It's about noon already." Sasha truly seemed sorry about her missing breakfast.

"I'll survive."

Once she got up completely, she went with Sasha to the others, having yet another interesting (excruciating) meeting about their soon-to-be guild.

It seemed like days in the one meeting. Historia zoned out half an hour ago because she got the point of their arguing over guild names.

Connie and Sasha were almost at each other's throats over the matter.

Before they murdered each other over it, they decided to disband the meeting.

'_Thank God_.'

As everyone was leaving (except Sasha and Connie, who were still glaring at each other) she glanced over at Ymir. Ymir hasn't talked to her since she gave Historia her sympathy.

Ymir left and didn't notice Historia.

Historia just walked over and grabbed Sasha's arm, pulling her away before she tries to kill Connie.

"Jeez, he thinks he's so clever with names. They're lame though, like _really_ lame. What do you think, Historia?"

"Uhh... well, uh, I-"

She was interrupted by Connie, who came up to Sasha quickly. He seemed to have heard what Sasha said.

"You think my names are lame?! Well excuse me but-"

Historia didn't hear the rest. She took this opportunity to flee so she wouldn't be dragged any further into their argument.

* * *

"Hey, Historia."

Seems like Ymir finally decided to talk to her.

"Yeah?"

"We're going to go see if a rumor is true. Do you want to come?"

'_No_.'

"Sure."

"Okay then come on."

She let herself get pulled away by Ymir. She realized she didn't even really know what she had just agreed to. She just had her assumptions.

Everyone came. Not just the small group of friends, but everyone in their soon-to-be guild. So about fifty people were coming.

Ymir can be so vague, but get all these people to agree to coming?

She fell for it too, so she doesn't have anything negative to say about them.

"It should be just a bit further ahead, I think." Ymir said.

"Where are we even going?" Reiner questioned.

"Yeah."

Reiner was displeased.

They came to a halt eventually. They stood in front of a small-ish hole on a mountain.

"Here we are!" Ymir said, with a pleased-with-herself type of tone.

Ymir proceeded to enter the hole and everyone else followed after.

They were all inside and it didn't take long to figure out where they were.

"FUCK YOU, YMIR!"

* * *

Everyone was thinking the last thing that was said. Even Historia; the only one who even wanted Ymir in their small party in the first place.

A large figure with ominous red eyes lurked within the room as a red crystal appeared over its head. It was large and a very dark red, bearing an enormous mace.

Ymir lead them to a boss room.

Everyone was pissed and glaring at Ymir. It all only lasted momentarily because they had much bigger problems to face.

They had to come up with a strategy and fast. Historia couldn't exactly think straight because of Ymir. She has never been more angry at her.

Mikasa and Annie took charge. They started barking commands at others. Everyone did what they were told because they knew damn well tat they can't do anywhere near as good.

They somewhat replicated the strategy that Erwin and Levi had used in the first boss battle. It wasn't the best strategy, but it was the best one that they knew.

Mikasa and Annie struck the beast together. They worked together like a well-oiled machine. Mikasa barked a command at some others almost as soon as her sword's blade dug into the monster's flesh.

The monster lunged at Mikasa and Annie with its mace; both of them just barely able to escape the monster's range.

Annie told a group of people to attack and another to defend on Mikasa's mark.

They first group charged at the beast with all their strength. The monster wasn't as predictable as Annie had hoped it to be.

The monster almost immediately smashed its mace into the offensive group. Several people would not be getting back up.

Mikasa only showed a small sign of worry until Annie returned to her feet.

This strategy was obviously ineffective on this boss.

Everyone just stopped and charged at the monster. It was the only thing they could think of after that strategy proved to be pointless.

Historia went for its lower back. She tried to pick an area where the boss wouldn't try to kill her over. She learned her lesson from the last time she did try to strike a vital area.

The rest of the guild seemed inferior to Mikasa and Annie when they worked together. Almost everyone was very strong, but they were abnormally flawless in their offensive motions.

People were falling as soon as they would attack. The boss was too quick; it was hard to keep up with it.

Mikasa and Annie went for another flawless attack, aimed for the monster's neck. What they weren't expect was for it to hit them before the even came close.

All Historia saw was them falling.

"Annie!"

Annie HP was gone before she even hit the ground. Her body erupted into hundreds of pieces in midair.

Mikasa just stood there; emotionless. She immediately went back to fighting. She didn't have time to mourn the loss of her girlfriend.

Many people continued to die. They were falling as if they were just mere mosquitoes and the boss was an annoyed human.

* * *

It felt like days after only a few hours. The boss had finally fallen; mainly by Mikasa's hand.

Mikasa refused to speak and the attention turned to Ymir. She looked just as sarcastic and uncaring as usual. She even dared to let a smirk creep on to her face.

Almost as soon as the monster's corpse erupted, Sasha had her sword to Ymir's throat. Ymir's smirk only widened.

"You..." Sasha halted and glared into her eyes. "_**How dare you**_?! You only care about yourself! You don't care if your comrades die or if anyone is even prepared. If you want to do something, you just _have_ to do it. Almost _half_ of us died and all you do is _smirk? _How heartless can you even be?!"

Ymir continued to smirk. Sasha glared into Ymir's eyes. Sasha was so mad; so disgusted. Everyone was.

They just paused like that for a brief moment. Sasha lowered her sword.

"You live for now and know that I'm not keeping you alive out of pity or fear. You're only staying because of Mikasa and Annie." Sasha turned to look at her. "But if you ever only think of yourself and fuck up like this again, I will not hesitate to slit your throat. Got it?"

Ymir just smirked and looked at her.

"And you're not selfish?"

Sasha raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"If it weren't for me dragging you all here, this floor would still be locked. Think of all the people who are dying. We just lost a few lives today; no where near as many as have already died. So you think you're not selfish? You're just as bad as me. You put yourself before others too. It's just they way humans are. And if you haven't realized that yet, then you're more stupid than I thought you already are."

Sasha was about ready to charge at her. Historia grabbed her arm. Sasha glared at her. Historia gave her a serious look.

"Sasha, neither of you are in any condition to fight more. We can't do this. Don't let the anger consume you."

Sasha knew she was right and backed off. They left the boss room in in awkward silence. The atmosphere was tense.

'_Ymir, you're a monster.'_


	9. Chapter 9

**_A/N_: I was only going to update on Thursdays, hence the wait for the last chapter, but I decided that I don't like that. So I'll just update frequently and at random (which I apologize in advance for.) **

* * *

Historia woke up grudgingly. She didn't sleep well because she couldn't stop replaying the events of the previous day in her head. She had to get up though,; she knew she had to attend the meeting which would still be daily until everything was ready.

Historia got up and joined the others in a silent breakfast. No one was talking and lots of people glared at Ymir who was sitting alone. She was too disgusted with her to take pity on her and sit with her.

She took a seat next to Sasha who smiled at her but said nothing. No one dared to break the silence. The atmosphere was way too tense for happy conversations.

Gradually, everyone got up and started getting to work for the day. The original party eventually made their way to where their meeting was to be held. The atmosphere was even worse in there than when they were having breakfast.

Mikasa sat alone in the corner. Ymir sat in the corner opposite of Mikasa. No one dared to speak to Mikasa. No one wanted to speak to Ymir.

Reiner started up the meeting and got to the point of what they were going to be focusing on that day, which has been the same for the last week or two: names.

Historia couldn't wrap her mind around what they were saying. She had a migraine and was too tired to think.

She glanced over at Ymir. Ymir obviously wasn't paying attention. Historia could tell just by glancing into her eyes. She had other things on her mind. She tried to focus on the meeting again.

Sasha and Connie were arguing about their favorite ideas for names again. At least someone was having fun.

Historia glanced over at Mikasa. She obviously wasn't paying attention either. Historia doesn't blame her. She never even really wanted to be in the party anyway. She looked hurt, broken. Historia could understand that she is hurt. She can't possibly get over Annie's death that quickly. No one really could. Almost no one talked to Annie or Mikasa, but they're the strongest and some of the most important people in their guild. The entire guild is going to be effected without Annie. No one could be as hurt about it as Mikasa though.

'_Annie Leonhardt_.'

Historia's eyes widened.

"Guys?"

Sasha and Connie stopped their bickering. Everyone looked at her.

"Why don't we name the guild Lion Heart?"

Everyone understood immediately what gave her the idea. The rest of the guild looked around at each other. No one said anything. Mikasa looked stunned.

Historia should have known that was a terrible idea.

"I'm for it." Jean said.

"Yeah, me too." added Reiner.

Everyone started to agree.

The meeting ended early that day. There was no point in continuing through that day because their objective had been reached.

Historia looked at Mikasa once again. It was hard to tell at first, but Historia quickly noticed the tears rolling down her cheeks. It was best to leave her alone for now. She doesn't want someone she barely knows to try to comfort her. She just knows it.

As Historia turned to leave, she noticed Ymir was still there too.

She forgot.

She forgot that Annie was Ymir's friend too. She forgot that Ymir must be hurt too. She forgot that Ymir must be having a hard time too.

Ymir too, had tears rolling down her cheeks.

Ymir wasn't a monster like she had thought.

She was only careless. Careless just like everyone will be sometimes.

Ymir has a heart just like everyone else. She has feelings like everyone else.

A feeling of guilt brewed in Historia's gut. A lump came into her throat.

She slowly took a place next to Ymir and placed a hand on her back.

She felt Ymir touch her. She gently laid her head on Historia's shoulder and hugged her. Historia could feel her warm tears through her shirt. She could feel her sob silently. Historia just gently hugged her back.

Two of the strongest people Historia knew. She witnessed them at their breaking points.

Ymir eventually stood up.

"I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry."

Ymir left before Historia could respond.

She glanced over at Mikasa. She stopped crying and just sat there with her head on her knees.

Historia decided that maybe she should a least try to comfort her.

"Mikasa?"

"Mmhm."

"Are you okay?"

_'Damn, that was a stupid question_.'

"I'll be better."

"Mikasa, I'm really sorry I had to bring it up earlier, I don't exactly know why I did it, but-"

"Historia, no."

She looked at Mikasa.

"Thank you. Thank you for caring. For actually recognizing her for something. I wish she could have been able to hear it. She didn't exactly have the best childhood, but that's her business."

Mikasa stood up and hugged Historia.

"But thank you for caring. Don't apologize for it. There's nothing to be sorry for."

Mikasa patted her shoulder and left the room.

* * *

Historia decided to go find Sasha and Connie. They wouldn't be arguing anymore, so they should be able to have decent conversations.

"Hey, Historia!" Sasha said and patted the seat next to her. Connie didn't seem to be with her.

"Where's Connie?"

"He went off with Jean, Bert, and Reiner."

"Oh okay. So do we know when we will officially be a guild?"

"Uhhh, I'm not sure. It shouldn't be too long though because all the preparations are done, so I don't see why we'd have to wait much longer."

"Okay."

Historia was starting to realize just how hard keeping up a conversation actually could be.

"Hey guys."

Sasha quickly invited Jean over to sit with them.

"So, you're not with Connie for once?"

"Nope."

"Well, have you seen Bert and Reiner?"

"No, I actually thought you were with them."

"What?! Why do they always exclude me in things?"

Jean continued to rant to Sasha about how he feels excluded.

Historia figured she should leave them to that and headed back to her room.

She laid on her bed. She didn't want to sleep. Not in the slightest.

She only wanted to think. She wanted to let her mind fester on all the small things and some of the large. Maybe it would help her be able to accept some of the twisted events in this fucked up world.

She shut her eyes and began to think. It wasn't a very intent thinking, but the kind you would forget about after focusing on another topic a second too long.

She only stopped when she heard an abrupt noise.

Historia looked up.

"What the he-"

"I've got a few questions to ask you, shorty."


	10. Chapter 10

"What now, Ymir?"

"Why?"

"Huh? Why what?"

"Why did you even give a shit? Why didn't you just leave me alone? Why did you have to try to comfort me? I would have been fine on my own."

"Well you're my friend. I don't like seeing my friends cry, so of course I'd at least try to comfort you."

'_Is Ymir my friend_?'

"Well why didn't you try to help Mikasa instead? I mean, she has it worse."

"I don't think she likes me that much and she seemed to be in the kind of pain where you'd just rather be alone for a little bit."

"Oh." Ymir seems to have run out of good arguments as to why Historia shouldn't have helped her do to the expression on her face.

"But the actual question here is why, of all places, did you pick my closet to hide in?"

"Seemed like it would have been more interesting. So, hey, why not?"

Ymir could have given Historia a more specific answer, and it was quite obvious. She was still a bit caught up on their previous subject as to why Historia even wanted to comfort her.

"Ymir, why is my friendship getting to you so much?"

"Well it's not like I exactly had many friends back home. The ones I did have never gave a flying fuck about what happened to anyone except themselves. Not like I cared that much about what happened to them either."

"Well, I care about what happens to you."

Ymir just looked at Historia. She had a very slight look of surprise on her face which faded as quickly as it had appeared. A very slight blush and her averting her eyes took it's place.

"Well you don't have to."

"I know that."

Ymir looked at her.

"But I want to. It's what friends do for each other." Historia smiled at her.

"Well."

Historia looked at her.

"Then I must be one really shitty friend then." Ymir smirked.

Ymir quickly started to leave.

"I'll leave you be for now, shorty."

Ymir was gone almost as soon as the words escaped her lips.

Historia laid back on her bed again.

'_Yeah, Ymir is my friend_.'

Historia looked up at the ceiling then closed her eyes and began to think.

'_For sure_.'

* * *

It was dark. She didn't want to see anybody.

'_Why did I agree to come here in the first place_?'

Everyone hates her. It was pretty obvious. She doesn't belong.

She ran her hand through her hair and thought of the possibilities.

She could run. She could run and no one would stop her.

She looked into the darkness ahead of her; the darkness that surrounds her.

It was her. She did it. She blew it.

She was going to run. She couldn't let anyone stop her. But she knew it would be so easy to stop her.

She wasn't as strong as she made herself out to be.

She looked up at where she knew the ceiling was.

She doesn't know how much more she could stand. It makes her sick to her stomach.

She just let her head hang and closed her eyes.

'_Yeah. I'll run_.'

She heard a click.

Light started to infiltrate her small closet she was in. The sudden light burned her eyes.

A small, blonde girl looked in at her.

"What do you want?"

"Ymir, what're you doing."

"Nothing really."

The small figure sat next to her.

"Why were just sitting by yourself in the dark? And why in here?"

"I don't know." Ymir lied.

"You're a bad liar." This was also a lie.

Ymir just looked into the corner of the small closet she was in. She didn't want to face the blonde. Hell, she didn't want to see anybody.

Historia just put her hand on Ymir's shoulder. Ymir looked at her. Historia raised her eyebrow.

"I told you. It's nothing. Now leave me alone."

"If it's bothering you, how can it be nothing?" Ymir was silent for a moment, but then her neutral expression broke and turned into a frustrated face.

"Dammit, why can't you ever just leave me alone?!"

Historia took her hand back and looked down almost immediately.

Maybe she shouldn't have yelled at her. She was only caring about her feelings.

'_Fuck_.'

She wasn't going to apologize though. She just accepts the fact that she probably fucked up again.

She really didn't want to talk to anyone right now.

Ymir just patted Historia's back and grinned at her. This was as close to a real smile she was going to give her. Historia smiled back at her. She has a natural smile; it never looks forced.

Ymir stood up. "Well, I think I'm going to go to bed. See you later, shorty."

"Oh, okay. Bye."

Historia came out of the small closet eventually.

She knew it wasn't going to be very effective to try to talk to Ymir.

She didn't even know what happened after Ymir left her room earlier. She wasn't happy and she could feel it in her aura. Even when she was in her room earlier.

Ymir seemed stressed. She wasn't willing to talk and that isn't going to help Ymir at all.

'_Maybe I shouldn't try to help. I shouldn't try to always help. It's her business and her life and I'm not a part of her life. It should stay that way. Ymir doesn't care_.'

These thoughts just kept running through her mind. They wouldn't stop; they wouldn't leave her alone.

She just tried going to bed. It was hard going to sleep, but eventually the thoughts subsided enough for her to sleep. ~

_~The shrieking, it just wouldn't stop. They were tormenting her, just wanting to see her break._

_"YOU'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH."_

_"YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN BORN."  
_

_"THE WORLD WOULD BE BETTER WITHOUT YOU."_

_They kept screaming at hear, forcing their beliefs into the least contaminated part of her mind._

_They weren't holding back; the pain was tremendous._

_Blood slowly crept of of her mouth, ears, and nose. _

_She looked down to find various tears in her pale flesh, blood slowly trickling down her bare flesh._

_All the purple, white, and red scars were showing, all visible to the world, the places where her parents decided to show her that she hadn't been good enough._

_They were laughing. Laughing at her pain. Laughing at her scars. Laughing at her vulnerability. Laughing at her bareness._

_The ground was cold. The air was cold. The room felt ominous._

_She felt alone._

_A warm hand rested on her shoulder. The ropes left her wrist and she could feel the blood rushing back into her hands._

_A thin, white nightgown covered her; covered her scars._

_The shrieking stopped. The laughing stopped._

_The room was silent._

_She turned around face to face with a figure with tan skin, freckles, and amber eyes that could see through her._

_The figure embraced her, holding her close. The figure's warmth spread to her._

_"Ymir?"_

_Ymir's eyes met hers and stayed there. Her amber eyes were captivating._

_A malicious smirk spread across her face and she leaned in close, Ymir's mouth only inches, even centimeters, away from her ears._

_"Isn't trust a funny thing?"_

_"What?"_

_Ymir drew a knife and slowly drew it across Her throat, savoring the moment; savoring her pain._

_Historia gasped for breath. She couldn't breath no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't breath no matter how much she gasped._

_Ymir thrust the knife into her solar plexus and slowly twisted it, savoring Historia's screams._

_The nightgown turned red with blood with in seconds._

_Ymir shoved her. She shoved her hard._

_Historia fell back, but she didn't hit the floor._

_She couldn't breath. Water surrounded her, turning red with blood._

_She couldn't move; she couldn't swim. She was paralyzed._

_Bloodstained water filled her lungs._

_She heard the laughing. But it sounded different. It was Ymir's laugh. And it was killing her._

_Historia succumbed. She couldn't do anything anyway._

_She closed her eyes and the laughter sank in. It was more painful than her wounds._

_Everything faded to black and the last of the laughter rand in the nothingness.~_

~Historia gasped and breathed heavily. The light was on and Sasha was standing over her with a worried expression.

"Historia, I heard you screaming so I came in. Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"N-no... it's okay... I have nightmares often...I'm okay..."

Sasha looked at her with a worried expression despite what she said. Historia actually was starting to feel better.

"Sasha, I'm okay. I promise."

Sasha pulled her into a tight hug and pressed her and gently on to her chest.

HIstoria was surprised. She had never been comforted after a nightmare before.

She took a minute before hugging Sasha back. She slowly hugged Sasha back, tighter and tighter.

"Thank you, Sasha."

"You don't need to thank me."

Historia looked at her.

"It's what friends do." Sasha smiled at her.

Historia hugged her tightly.


	11. Chapter 11

Historia woke up late. So did Sasha. Historia asked Sasha if she would stay with her, so Sasha slept over. Historia really likes Sasha. No one has ever cared about her as much as Sasha seemed to. She's her best friend.

Sasha woke up after Historia.

"G'morning."

"Morning."

Sasha stretched and stood up. "You wanna go get food?"

"Sure."

Historia wasn't particularly hungry, but she went with her anyway.

Sasha ate and talked happily with the others. Historia didn't really say anything. She didn't really listen either. She kind of just wanted to be there and that's it. Only for now.

Sasha and the others eventually stood up.

"Historia, do you wanna come?"

Historia looked up at her. "Nah, I don't think so." She didn't even know where they were going.

"Okay, bye then."

Historia waved.

She knew she didn't want it to be an eventful day.

* * *

Sasha and the others came back eventually. Sasha put a bag in front of Historia.

"What's this?"

"Guild uniform."

Historia took it out of the bag almost as soon as the words escaped Sasha's lips.

It was just like Jean's drawing, but it looked so much better in real life.

"Hey, Sasha?"

"Hmmm?"

"Is it okay if I give Ymir hers?"

"Knock yourself out." Sasha tossed her the bag.

Historia immediately went to Ymir's room and into her closet.

"What do you want now?" Ymir seemed almost offended because she was almost asleep.

"Guild uniform."

Ymir sneered at the thought of having to wear a uniform.

"Just put it on my bed."

"You don't want to see it?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I've seen Jean's shitty drawing of it, so I've seen it, so I don't care anymore."

Historia just slightly shook her head and threw it on to the bed.

She looked at Ymir.

"What?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, now let me sleep."

"Why don't you sleep in your bed?"

"I don't tell you how to live your life."

"Okay sorry."

Historia left quickly. Ymir was obviously not in the mood for talking.

Ymir was almost upset that Historia left, yet, she was kind of glad she left.

* * *

She looked up. She looked into the nothingness that is the darkness of her closet.

Ymir couldn't focus after Historia talked to her. It was annoying.

Ymir made herself come out of the small closet eventually. Her attention came to the bag on her bed.

She pulled out the uniform. It did look like that shitty drawing.

Ymir looked at it for a minute and sneered.

'_No_.'

She impaled the uniform right where her solar plexus would be. She jerked the sword up and ripped the uniform in half with no mercy whatsoever. It fell to pieces like everything else when it was destroyed in this god forsaken game.

She slightly smirked as the pieces fell to the floor and disintegrated into nothing. There was no sign that it ever existed.

Her eyes wondered around the room, observing every detail from every crack to every inch that the light couldn't hit. This isn't her life. It's the life someone gave to her and she was not just going to let that slide.

She gathered all of her belongings, not leaving anything behind. She held a potion in her hand. She glared at it. Her grip on the bottle tightened; tight enough to strangle a man and make him beg for mercy. She raised the potion above her head and threw it to the ground with full force. It shattered into hundreds of blue pieces. Ymir couldn't help but to giggle at the ecstasy of disaster, even if it was a minor one.

Ymir made sure that almost all of her possessions met this fate, all except for her sword. Her beloved sword. That she stole.

She was having fun. Maiming things was oddly satisfying and she just hadn't had enough.

She drew the blade of her sword and held it up, looking into the deadly metal. She saw her reflection within it and the look in her reflection's eyes made it seem as if she was looking at an entirely different person, almost like a person with a blood lust and they just haven't caused enough bloodshed or pain.

She used both hands. She scratched and carved with her blade feverishly along the wall until she was satisfied with her masterpiece.

She slowly made herself sheath the sword. The damage has been done and there's only a few things left for her to do in this life.

She took a deep breath, in and out, and shut off the lights.

Ymir knew exactly what she was going to do first.

* * *

Historia sat outside. It was a full moon that night. The virtual night landscape was almost as good as the one in real life.

She heard someone sit next to her.

"Hi, Ymir."

Ymir grunted in acknowledgement. She didn't have much time but it was also the very reason she wanted to sit out there with Historia.

"Why're you out here at this time of night? Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"Well, it's pretty, and I'm not eight Ymir. I can stay up as late as I want."

Historia didn't look at her when she said that. Her light blue eyes were filled with innocent curiosity, fixated upon the moon before them. Ymir could see the reflection of the moon in Historia's eyes. Light from the moon shined of the top of Historia's head. Historia looked especially pretty that night.

Historia noticed her looking and looked into Ymir's eyes and grinned at her. Ymir just looked down and angled her head away, hoping Historia wouldn't notice the slight blush that she knew appeared on her face.

'_I'm out of time_.'

Ymir looked back at the small blonde. She knows she has to go now.

"Hey, Historia?"

"Yeah?"

"Isn't trust a funny thing?"

Historia was stunned.

'_Did she just say that_?'

She knew she heard her say that phrase before. But it was in her head. And that was _not_ a fun time for Historia.

Ymir leaned in and pressed her lips against Historia's. She held her there for several moments.

Historia has never been more confused. She wasn't exactly unhappy about it either.

She just went along with it and kissed Ymir back.

Ymir eventually pulled away and stood up. Their eyes met for just a moment. They were both silent. Ymir started to run. She just ran away. There was no stopping.

Historia just put her hand to her lips.

Normally, she would have run after Ymir. She would have yelled for her to wait. But she knew she wouldn't stop this time. She knew she couldn't catch up to her, even if she tried.

"Ymir..." she whispered to herself.

She just held her hand to her lips and found that tears were streaming down her cheeks.

She just wiped the warm, salty tears from her face after a moment of silence and went to her room. She immediately climbed into her bed.

'_There's no way my mind will let me sleep_.'

* * *

She was still running. She couldn't make herself stop. She wasn't strong enough.

After she must've been several miles away, her legs collapsed out from under her. She rolled onto her back and looked at the fake stars above.

'_Why do I have to be such an idiot_?'

She could understand perfectly why she ran away. She just couldn't understand why the hell she thought it would be a good idea to kiss Historia. She didn't have feelings for her and she didn't want her to have the wrong impression, which she was inevitably going to think that _that's_ what Ymir meant by it.

She sure as hell didn't want to be Ymir, the one who sexually harassed a goddess.

'_Fuck this. Fuck all of this sappy __**shit**_.'

Ymir stood up and looked over at the town she just reached. She could see the lights throughout the town coming from the small businesses and homes. The illumination crept throughout the streets and reached only very few areas. It was almost pretty.

Ymir could start a new life, or at least restart this shithole that she calls a life. She can forget everyone. She can live for herself and no one else.

She could forget her sin. She could forget all of them.

She reached back and grabbed her ponytail.

'_Starting over, eh_?'

She removed her hair tie and threw it behind her, not caring where it landed. She grabbed her hair and sliced it twice, once from each side. She cut it so that the longest piece was in the middle and barely reaching the nape of her neck.

She looked out at the town before her once again and started to run.

She had a life to start.

* * *

Historia went inside and looked at her reflection. Even she couldn't tell that just minutes before she had been crying.

It was still a mystery to her as to why she cried anyway.

She didn't even think twice about where she was headed.

She pushed open the door to Ymir's room. Inside, she really wanted Ymir to be there.

She turned on the light and her attention instantly went to the'artwork' Ymir left for them.

The word 'TRAITOR' was viciously carved on the wall; it looked as if it had been done by someone who had just broken out of an asylum.

Historia reached and felt the carving. It had been carved without mercy. Ymir didn't hold back or cared about what she had done.

'_Ymir._..'

Her attention diverted to the closet. Historia quickly turned the knob, hoping to see the tall, freckled figure.

Her spirits fell as her eyes fell upon a bare closet, with no proof whatsoever of being used by anyone.

Historia had to face it. She was gone and there's nothing she can do about it.

She shut off the lights and went to go find Sasha.

Sasha was always able to cheer her up, even if she didn't even know she was doing it.

She found Sasha sitting alone on the couch, half asleep. Everyone else had gone to bed.

"Hey Sasha."

"Hi."

"Historia took a seat next to Sasha on the couch and laid her head on Sasha's shoulder.

"Well, we're going to need someone who knows how to fix a wall."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Historia just grinned at her and kept her head on her shoulder. Sasha already seemed to have gotten over the fact that she didn't know what Historia meant at all.

Historia sighed.

"Hey, Sasha?"

"Hmmm?"

"Isn't trust a funny thing?"

"What?"

Historia just shook her head at herself.

"I'm sorry. I'm tired and talking nonsense now."

"Nah, it's alright, bud."

Sasha seemed much more than just half asleep now.

Historia just sat there and put her hand to her lips again. She could still feel Ymir's lips against hers.

She sighed and laid against the now snoring Sasha.

'_Ymir, why do you have to be so ignorant?_'

She fell asleep against Sasha.


End file.
